AuthorTopic: Operation Meteor EW... (Read 281 times)

This is my Completed MG Gundam Wing EW collection for the original Operation Meteor, been a massive fan of the series ever since it was first aired back in 1995, and I've always wanted to collect the original 1/100 HG.

Unfortunately, it has been more than 2 decades since those models first came out, and they have become far too dated to be even posed with the intent on recapturing moments from the TV series. Some of you here was probably introduced to the world of Gundam by this series, and even though there was a lot of repetitive animation, I bet you couldn't wait to get home after school or playing with your mates to go turn on the telly and watch it on CN or Toonami...

I've always liked the look of the original Okawara designs but they never had a decent model just those HG 1/100 with 2 polycaps joints for elbows that makes it impossible for them to hold anything heavier than a beam saber, so I waited for a while hoping for new, better models to be released, and then Endless Waltz came out... despite the fact that I liked Okawara's design, I loved Katoki's redesign of the Gundams more... they were made elegant, more over the top and less bulky, the designs were slick and they were made into totally different beasts in comparison to the Okawara version... I;m not saying the Okawara version was bad, they had their own flair, but Katoki reinvented the design from the bottom up, and they looked fantastic...

Later manga incarnations only used the EW versions, and they became even more popular than the original designs, there was even a remake of the entire anime series into a manga called Glory of the Losers where the Okawara design was replaced by newer Katoki designs and even involved them using optional parts...

Obviously, kits would be coming soon and I was excited, and in what better scale did they come with other than MG, but unfortunately when all 5 Gundams were released, I was jobless and penniless, so I had to be patient and wait... so waited I did and after getting a decent job, skills and a tons worth of information on how to build, paint and assemble GunPla, I have finally completed the 5 main Gundams, of Operation Meteor

Warning: from this point on it will be picture heavy

Wing Gundam aka Gundam 01This Gundam was given to Odin Lowe Jr. aka Heero Yuy for Operation Meteor, a highly adaptable Mobile Suit, that is oddly fitted for combat by Dr. J.It uses a Buster Rifle, that has 3 charges before needing to recharge by directly charging from the MS main power core, a beam saber stored in the shield and 2 Machine Cannons mounted on the torso shoulders as well as a buster shield, that it must never drop otherwise it will not be able to transform. It's designed to be a hit and run type suit, flying in close using its bird mode transformation, firing its Buster Rifle or cutting through with its beam saber before flying away once more with its wings. Agility is one of the key components of this suit design and with its variable movement wings, which mounts verniers as well as enables it to be aerodynamic during flight mode, this is made to be one of the fastest if not the fastest MS used in Operation Meteor.

modeler's note: I didn't have the pleasure of getting the ver. ka, nor did I had the chance to purchase the stand alone water slide decals, I only had what was in the Wing Gundam EW box, and unfortunately, this leaves the MS somewhat barren when it comes to unique decals... the hand for this thing is and will always be a pain, it can't hold the buster rifle since that is one of the most heaviest and longest guns in any MG kit... also wouldn't it kill Katoki to design the EW Wing's Buster Rifle with a bigger stock to balance the massive gun? all the weight of the gun goes away from the MS and either the wrist pops off or the gun just falls from its grasp... one of the most annoying to pose kits out of all the MG kits, and yet the one I had the most customization out of all the MG kits... customization for this kit includes: trimming the extra pointy tips from the V-fin to make it look less like the Wing Zero and more like its own thing, addition of a clear part on the v-fin, swapped the hands for a standard EW hand, which swaps those fingers instead of the 3-1 thinb which the kit originally had, this is to increase stability when holding the buster rifle, which worked, added verniers to the back of the legs to give it that Okawara design look, added articulation to the wings, to again give it that Okawara design, and mainly because I prefer variable moving wings instead of that massive block that they give you instead.

Gundam Deathscythe aka Gundam 02This "work of art" was given to one of the noisiest pilot in almost every Gundam series, Duo Maxwell. The design of the suit is pretty good for quick sorties that does not drag on for too long. Equipped with a Beam Scythe, Buster Shield, missiles, vulcans and a Hyper Jammer this stealth suit is designed to get up close and personal, fast and stealthy. Mostly designed to be a melee assault unit, the MS was made to hide its presence from its enemies and rush them with its four high powered verniers, those who try to run away are gunned by either the vulcans, missiles or drilled by the high powered Buster Shield. Professor G designed this suit as a work of art, and by what he means art, he meant that it can destroy Oz before they even realize they were under attack... it also has one of the most powerful beam weapons in almost any Gundam series, being able to use the beam scythe even while under water...

Modeler's note, this gundam has been my favorite build before I got my hands on Heavy arms, many complained that it can't hold it's scythe, but it works just fine for me... my main complain was the shoulders tend to pop off now and then mainly due to the kit design and the skirts has pieces that tend to pop off if you move the torso too much... I didn't change anything model wise, but I did a recolor changing the yellow to orange, as I felt that it suited it more... overall, simple, elegant, spiky... Gundam Deathscythe is a work of art...

Gundam Heavyarms aka Gundam 03Used by Triton Bloom aka Trowa Barton aka "No-name" for Operation Meteor, this heavily armed mobile suit is designed to lay down an overwhelming amount of fire on enemy positions and fortifications and reduce them to rubble. This suit was created with direct funding by the Barton Foundation and was also the only suit in the entire Gundam Wing series which was not destroyed until Trowa self-detonated it with Deathscythe and Sandrock at the end of Endless Waltz. Doktor S ensured that OZ paid for the wrongs they have committed when he sent this thing to earth, this suit can lay down crazy amounts of firepower thanks to its beam gattling, chest gattling, machine cannons, head vulcan guns and 96 different assorted missiles contained in compartments found throughout this gundam... then once out of ammunition, it can still attack you with its serrated combat knife...

modeler's note: I was going to get the resin Igel custom parts for this MS, but fiigured I might as well save those extra missile pods for the Heavyarms Custom just to give it an upgraded look in comparison to ths suit... again I didn't really need to add any additional design changes to the stock version, mainly because it already had a lot going for it... building this suit was fun and all the missile opening gimmicks was fun too... although I should warn beginners about the side skirt missile launchers as the cover for that can get finnicky if you plan on opening and/or closing them... also, I would recommend gluing the ends of the Gattling ammo belt cable to the end pieces, they have a tendency of coming off, and can only be fixed permanently if you use glue at the ends...

Gundam Sandrock aka Gundam 04Gundam Sandrock, designed by Instructor H with the financial support of the Winner Family, this mobile suit was designed with the toughest armor among the 5 machines sent to earth for Operation Meteor. Piloted by the only son of the Winner family, Quatre Raberba Winner, this suit was designed for desert conflicts and for long term combat scenarios, unlike most of the other Gundams, which heavily relied on hit and run or in the case of Heavyarms, destroying the enemy as quickly as possible. This suit is also equipped with the best internal generator, and the highest thrust output out of the 5 Gundams, which enables it to close the distance between its enemies while still taking fire. It's also equipped with a pair of heat shotels, massive blades that heats up before cutting enemy suits like a 1000 degree knife through tin foil. And when equipped with its diffusing cloak, the Sandrock can even block beam based weaponry for a short time enabling it to fight against more heavier armed enemies.

Modeler's note: This was the last suit I built for Operation Meteor, and where I used some entirely new techniques, that I've never attempted before. (Masking and Candy painting) I had a lot of fun with this build, and a lot of headaches when I was working out the cloak... that thing was a pain, but it worked out in the end, and I had a pretty awesome optional equipment for the Sadnrock... that is the only additional thing I added with this model and most of the other parts are stick standard, apart for the side skirt which came from the Sandrock Custom. I also recolored the kit, as I would prefer the yellow parts to be on the Sandrock Custom instead and gave this Gundam a more gray and white scheme that is more unique and pleasing to the eye than the Dark Blue that the plastics color originally had.

Gundam Shenlong aka Nataku aka Gundam 05Chang Wufei was not the original intended pilot for Gundam 05, Mei Lan Long Wufei's bride to be, was the original intended pilot and was going to be the only female pilot for Operation Meteor, unfortunately, she died before the Operation began when the colony where the Gundam was being constructed was attacked by OZ space forces, she defended the colony, but unfortunately died in the process. Mei Lan Long took the name Nataku before she died, and Wufei used it to call his Gundam after his deceased fiance. The Gundam was designed by Master O, and was created with short range close combat specialist in mind. Equipped with a Beam Trident and a powerful and devastating Dragon Fang, this suit can engage enemies in close combat and utterly annihilate them with its capabilities. Also, the only other suit designed for Operation Meteor with a search eye system besides the Wing Gundam, this machine can find out enemy weaknesses and, with the pilots abilities, tactically attack those weak points to achieve victory.

Modeler's notes: This gundam was an easy straight-forward build... it only really had 1 extra feature and that was the Dragon Claw... which was disappointing for me as I expected the claw to be extendable similar to the TV version... but I guess it works in similar fashion to Banshee's claws where it rips apart or crushes its enemies with its grips, or just works by punching through them when it charges them... similar to the Heavy Arms combat knife however, it is oddly placed on the arm, it can only be placed on attack mode of you turn the arm almost completely backwards and can look odd when posed in any other way... the rest of the gundam is pretty stock standard, and I gave Shenlong a more Aquatic Blue color scheme to differentiate it from Wing Gundam's Sky Blue color scheme.

And there we go... my 5 Gundams for Operation MeteorI know I'm not the best modeler out there and there is still soooooo much to learn and do, but once I get my skill level and funds up to another level I'll work on the other 5 suits for the Endless Waltz Gundam team... but that's another beast for another day, so here, have a few more pictures for the road: